The present invention relates generally to printing devices and, more particularly, to a printer media storage bin and method of using the same.
Modern printing devices utilize printheads or drop ejectors that are often mounted in a carriage that is moved back and forth across print media, such as paper or envelopes, for example. During the printing process, as the printheads move across the print media, a control system activates the printheads to deposit or eject ink droplets onto the print media to form images and text.
Throughput is often an important factor in printing processes and, as a result, a printer manufacturer can be under pressure to find techniques for increasing throughput, without diminishing print quality. In some cases, especially in tabletop printers, the goal of high throughput is achieved at a cost of printed media smearing. Such smearing occurs downstream of the printing process, at a place where the printed pieces of media are received and temporarily stored. As a rule, the smearing occurs as a piece of newly printed media rubs across another piece of media, before the ink on the latter has dried.
Designers of conventional printers have realized the problems presented by smearing of the printed media and they have taken steps to eliminate them. One approach to eliminate the smearing problem has been to provide heaters to aid the drying process. Such heaters are relatively large and expensive. In addition, the heaters can present a potential fire hazard and, since they dry the air around the printheads, they create an environment that is detrimental to the printheads. Thus, use of heaters to eliminate smearing may have some utility but the technique itself presents some limitations.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that there is a need for a post-printing technique whereby smearing of media pieces is substantially eliminated, in a safe, effective and efficient manner. Desirably, such a technique would afford increased throughput while enabling good print quality. In addition, it would be advantageous if such a technique utilized inexpensive components and eliminated the need for heating devices.
According to the present invention, there is provided a media storage bin including a floor and a pair of spaced apart walls specifically spaced to receive pieces of media and to retain the pieces of media in a stacked condition. A drop control flap is mounted to an individual one of the spaced walls for delaying the fall of a piece of media into the bin. This wall includes a top surface. A platform for supporting a stack of pieces of media is disposed in the bin, between the wall top surface and the floor. A helical spring is disposed between the platform and the floor for maintaining the top of the media stack at a predetermined distance from the wall top surface to provide thereby a constant fall distance between an individual one of the pieces of media and the wall top surface. This is accomplished in a manner whereby the spring rate enables the platform to drop the thickness of one piece of media for each piece of media added to the top of the stack.
The media storage bin of the present invention affords several advantages. It enables increased throughput without any sacrifice of print quality. It is inexpensive to produce since the control flap is constructed of readily available materials and the helical spring can be procured without difficulty. Importantly, the invention eliminates the need for heaters while providing a simple and reliable technique for stacking pieces of printed media while substantially eliminating rubbing of the pieces during the stacking process. As a result, the smearing problem is substantially eliminated in an efficient and effective manner.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.